Faith

He comes first; the rest follows. – Friday, 3rd Week in Lent – Hosea 14:2-10/Mark 12:28-34

I have dealt extensively with the first reading in https://www.pottypadre.com/god-does-not-just-deal-with-our-heart-he-heals-our-heart-friday-3rd-week-of-lent-hosea-142-9-mark-1228-34/ (Just click this link)

I have gone through 53 seasons of Lent, 31 of them as an adult and 23 as a priest, yet the scriptures never speak to you in the same way. Each year, your circumstances, emotions, maturity (or immaturity), learning etc compel you to read the scriptures differently.

When I was in the seminary there was a growing clamour to approach theological studies from a psycho-socio approach. Years of traditional formation seemed outdated to many. To my mind (and this is purely subjective) the collective body of seminary professors failed to develop in us a more robust and traditional spirituality in their endeavour to introduce us to new expressions of theology. If your grounding in the faith is lacking, all other expressions of the faith no matter how ‘in tune’ and ‘in time’ they are to the world, become irrelevant.

Virtue lies in the middle and Christ addressed this reality but even more he affirmed the hierarchy of truths and did not play to the gallery. At the time of Jesus, the love of God was layered under the traditions linked to the law. Most of God’s law was smothered under human traditions. Jesus, seeing this reality addressed it in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5:21-48. “You have heard it said, but I say to you.” Christ did not rule out the core of the law but he course corrected it. “Not one dot, not one iota of the law will disappear,” he said.

Striking an honest balance while not compromising the core of the faith is a tricky business. When one of the scribes came to Jesus asking him which is the FIRST of all commandments, Jesus gave him TWO (“The second is this”, he said). Christ knew he had to course correct a distorted understanding of God but he did not swing the pendulum to another extreme, What is fundamental must be stated, “The Lord is one; you shall love the Lord YOUR God will all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” THEN and only THEN did he add a second commandment (even though he was asked for only one)

To my mind, the ‘talk about’ the love of neighbour has overtaken the fundamental love for God which must come first. It is fashionable and popular to talk about loving, helping and caring for others. But such an act is an act of social service and not one of Christian charity (read charity as love because that is what is meant by the Church). Christian charity (love) is primarily rooted in the love of God and this love of God finds its expression in the love for the neighbour.

In the first reading, Hosea the prophet, speaks to a people who had forgotten God entirely. He nudges them on, “Come back to the Lord YOUR God.” You may find that journey strange and a bit difficult, so “provide yourselves with words.” In short, prepare yourself to speak the truth of your sinfulness to God. Hosea is practically conducting a penitential rite for people who are reluctant to make their confession.

The faith cannot be compromised. The season of Lent does not allow for it. It has to be approached as God wanted it. He comes first; the rest follows.

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We stand for God? Thursday, 3rd Week in Lent – Jeremiah 7:23-28/ Luke 11:14-23

Lent is not a time when the message of God is even remotely made easy for us. We would like words of comfort but that is for another season. Lent is a time when the word of God is not directed at a bygone people and another era who lived in disobedience of God’s law but to a people living in 2024 who perhaps, in many ways, are the same; human nature does not change.

In the Gospel text of today’s readings, Jesus emphatically states, “he who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” You are either with God or you are not; that’s the long and short of it. You live like a citizen of Heaven or you are already living in Hell.

The Gospel of today reflects the ‘some’ who always work as satan’s agents. When God’s works, these ‘some’ shout, ‘satan.’ Satan means deceiver and his army of minions mimics him to the bitter end. Their modus operandi is deception; this is how satan works. Look at the text of today, Jesus has cast out ‘the devil from a dumb man’ who can now speak. The ‘people’ are amazed but ‘some’ cast aspersions on the Son of God claiming he is the agent of the devil.

Even though they are ‘some,’ they always manage to shout as loud as they can, pretending to speak for all. They have mastered the art of being devious. Ironically, the children of light live in their ‘naïve’ world with a muted response to evil that surrounds them. But are the children of light meek and mild? Make no mistake, the same ‘children of light’ (and I speak of practising Catholics) will go to court if someone dared attempt to infringe on their property or infringe on their privileges. Let the reality of the ‘children of light’ be told; they are children of semi-darkness. For Christ, you are with me or against me.

The people of Israel were clearly against God. They made no bones about it. The text of today taken from the prophet Jeremiah, when placed in its context, has this unwelcome prophet stand at the gate of the house of the Lord. The Lord wants his people to change their ways (7:5-7). Yet God knew that this was a “stiffed necked people” (7:26) whose progress report was “worse than their ancestors.” (Verse 26)

God wants us to “obey his voice” (verse 23) and to “walk in his way that he commands.” Yet, verse 24 tells us they did not obey his voice or incline their ear. Israel was unable to even attempt to incline their ear because they had declined their heart and declined his invitation from the time they had come out of Egypt.

There is a hymn in Church that we sang when I was a young man. It was an anthem that the congregation sang with gusto. “We stand for God” reminded us that the foes of God were ever present and it was for us to “raise his standard against these foes.” That hymn, along with the many good traditions of the Catholic Church has been removed by priests and people who have itchy ears.

Of late, fear has filled my heart. It is not a fear I want to impose on you but maybe you experience the same fear in your heart. The ‘standard of God’ is no longer carried into battle boldly by the hierarchy of the Church. We prefer to carry a white flag of surrender; a flag of cowardice and not the red of martyrdom. Incidentally, the cardinals wear red as a reminder that they are the first to shed their blood for Christ.

Fiery and honest preachers are suppressed for the ‘good of the community’. The faith is seen as ‘alive’ in social activity conducted in God’s name. The command to go out and proclaim the good news of salvation is not preached even from the safety of the pulpit. In its place are anecdotes, jokes, and life skills.

Sin is no longer condemned vociferously. Christ did not care if he lost his congregation. We know that when he declared himself to be the bread of life, he was left by the many disciples who had eaten the bread he fed them with; bread for their stomachs. The same is the fate of a Church that only provides bread for the stomach.

The words of Peter, “Lord to whom shall we go?” are not words of fatalistic believers but those who stand under the cross knowing that this is where they belong for there is no other place they would rather be.

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Khatta moong 

Khatta moong is a little alien to our Christian cuisine but is worth a try this Lent. Khatta moong is a simple, healthy Gujarati dish made with whole green moong dal, sour yoghurt, chick pea flour or besan, and a few spices. In Gujarati, It is called khatta mag where ‘khatta’ means sour.

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole moong soaked overnight in water
salt as needed
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup fresh yoghurt
1 to 2 tablespoon chickpea flour or besan

For the tempering
2 tablespoon oil
3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
a few curry leaves
2 red chillies whole
1 or 2 green chillies, finely chopped
salt
red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

Procedure:
Boil or pressure cook moong with salt and turmeric till soft.
In a bowl whisk together the yoghurt and chick pea flour. Add water to form a smooth consistency.
Heat oil in a pan and  temper (give tadka) using all the remaining ingredients as mentioned above.
Fry well and then add the yoghurt  mixture to this. Cook well for a few minutes and finally add the boiled moong. Continue to cook on a low fire for another five minutes. 
Serve hot with rice and lots of ghee (If your doctor has not restricted you to ;))

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Forget what we ought to remember, remember what we ought to forget – Wednesday, Third week in Lent – Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9/ Matthew 5:17-19

There is much debate in the Catholic Church these days. The left and the right seem to have their views on the pontificate of Pope Francis, especially when he speaks off the cuff (which sadly has often left us confused). But look carefully and not one dot or one iota of the law of the Church has changed under his Pontificate. There have been debatable pastoral outreaches to various sections of catholic society but the fact remains that natural law cannot be changed by Pope Francis or any other Pope.

Apply this to the mandate that is found in scripture in both readings today. The people of Israel had wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. Their disobedience and sin had wearied the patience of God and we are told that he was “wrathful” (Deut 1:34) and he had decided that ‘not one of this generation should see the good land that he swore to give them.’ (Deut 1:36). Even Moses had to bear a great punishment on account of his people for he too would not enter the promised land (Deut 1:37)

A new generation of Israelites, the sons of Caleb and the sons of Joshua would enter the promised land. When the rest of the Israelites feared to enter the promised land on account of the military superiority of the Canaanites, Caleb expressed confidence that the Israelite invasion would be successful. He and Joshua alone, among the first generation of the Israelites of the Exodus, were allowed by God to settle in Canaan before dying.

It is to this new generation that Moses will instruct ad nauseum from chapters 5-26 of the book of Deuteronomy. Four times in this book he says, “Hear Oh Israel” in some form or the other, harkening Israel to obey the commandments of God. Verse two of chapter four (not in our reading of today) tells us that God’s commandments ‘cannot be added to or taken away.’ This is a perfect law and should they be kept ‘diligently,’ the way God gave it to them. The practice of God’s law will show the other nations the ‘wisdom and discernment’ of God’s people and acknowledge God’s people as ‘wise and discerning.’ (Deut1:6)

So why does Christianity not flourish today as it ought to? Because we, like the older generation of Israelites, keep breaking God’s law. The consequence of our disobedience is clear; we too will not enter heaven; God’s promised land to us.

In the Gospel of today, Jesus reiterates the teaching of Deuteronomy. Perhaps many of the scribes and Pharisees saw in the pastoral actions of Jesus, a rabble-rouser who had come to change the law. Jesus is emphatic, “not one dot, not one little stroke shall disappear.” Yet one might be compelled to ask, “Did Christ not break the sabbath when he healed on that day? Was there to be no work to be done on this day?

Christ tells us in the Gospel, “I have not come to abolish the law or the prophets, I have come to fulfil it.” The commandments of God on the sabbath were clear and simple, “you shall keep it holy.” This was all God asked from us on the Sabbath. It was man, who over the years interpreted it to their understanding. By the time of Christ, this simple law on the sabbath had 39 restrictions with several interpretations attached to each one.

Don’t blame God for what man has done. Keep his law as he has asked us to. “Observe them so that you may live.” (Deut 4:1) Sadly, most people live with the belief that laws kill our joy; Deuteronomy tells us otherwise.

We want to conveniently forget the law of God and interpret it the way we think it should apply to us. This is the work of satan who makes us forget what we ought to remember and remember what we ought to forget.

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Pass it on – Tuesday, the Third Week in Lent – Daniel 3:25,34-43/ Matthew 18:21-35

The heart of today’s readings is unmistakable; it has forgiveness written all over it. Be it asking for forgiveness from God in the first reading or to consequences of not forgiving others in the Gospel.

The first reading taken from the book of Daniel presents itself in the exilic period of the Babylonian deportation which took place in the 6th century BC. The Babylonian king in the narrative is Nebuchadnezzar. However, the Book of Daniel was written in the 2nd century BC during the reign of the Greek king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

So how do we explain this complexity? Imagine yourself living under a despotic leader (there is no dearth of them in the world right now) who has curtailed your religious freedoms and dictated that you worship his faith and gods. If you were to criticize him openly you would find investigative agencies that would hold you forever in a prison under some trumped-up charges. So, to get your message across you speak of Hitler, from a bygone era, whose very actions are reflected in the despotic ruler of your age. By doing so, your readers know whom you are talking about without the consequence of being witch-hunted. That’s the book of Daniel for you in a nutshell.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes (which means a manifestation of God) erected a statue of the Greek god Zeus and slaughtered a pig and all this was done in the temple of Jerusalem. The writer of the Book of Daniel ‘recalls’ a similar incident when Nebuchadnezzar installed a statue of himself and wanted the Jewish exiles in Babylon to worship it. Three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused. The dictator wants to make an example and so they are to be executed in a fiery furnace.

The reading of today is the prayer of one of them. It is not a prayer asking to be saved from death but a prayer of forgiveness for a people whose sins have brought them into exile. It is a prayer of admission of guilt that has brought a nation so low that they have now become the least. These three “contrite souls” stand as witnesses to the fidelity of Yahweh whom they serve (3:17) and even if God, in his wisdom, chose not to deliver them from this persecution, they would bow down to no other god (or dictator).

This prayer of forgiveness is tender and heartbreaking. Four times the young man pleads to God with the words, “Do not.” Yet he asks not for himself but for these people who deserved the exile, who deserved the covenant of God to be withdrawn, who deserved his favour to be rescinded and asks that they be treated as gently as God himself is gentle. We know from history that God forgave his people and sent them home to Jerusalem under King Cyrus.

Which brings us to the Gospel. “How often do I have to forgive my brother?” asks Peter. For Jesus that was an obvious answer, as often as God has forgiven the crazy debt of 10,000 talents that he forgave you of; or to give 10,000 talents a more modern-day equivalent, 1,50,000 years of service. Yes, you read that one right.

You can’t ever repay a forgiving God whose debt is beyond measure. So, what can you do? Well just pass it on. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. But the Gospel of today also comes with a warning; woe be upon you if you don’t.

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